In the Hearts of Stars

August 3rd, 112 N.E.

16:00 Hours

Defense Satellite USSF Soteria

[Authors Note]

After the desolation of humanity in 2207, when those who survived began to rebuild, they declared that year to be Year Zero N.E for the near extinction they had faced. Every subsequent year would be a reminder of how far they had come back from the brink.

***

Sometimes life hands us things we don’t want, but yet cannot say no to, like when Sergeant Beckwith Babcock found himself aboard the USSF Soteria for a one year solitary assignment. He didn’t want it, nobody in their right mind would, but with no spouse or children, and being physically and mentally fit, he was the perfect candidate.

He had been bitter those first few days, complaining that doing everything right only got a person more work, more responsibility and a slight increase in pay, if any increase at all. He could also be heard whining about how the occupants of the two sister satellites had volunteered for their positions but yet a third volunteer could not be found, or so he was told. His remonstrances found no listening ears, save for the ship’s artificial intelligence, who only reminded him of his duty and the importance thereof.

DIM was right, much to Beck’s annoyance. A shower of meteorites had pummeled Earth in the early twenty third century, wiping out two-thirds of the global population. Plant and animal life suffered immense losses as well.

Satellite communications went down nearly instantaneously when the onslaught started, and mankind’s dependence on modern technology had almost been their downfall. Moving forward, a fusion of multiple transmission methods were incorporated as well as various outposts throughout the known galaxy.

Despite all this, Beck’s grumblings had continued into the first weeks, that is until he met Melanie Welch. Time had passed easily since then, and he now awaited contact from her once again, floating weightlessly within the confines of the control room, a pouch of water in one hand and a book in the other, when a sensor beeped, garnering his attention.

He let go of his novel, Beyond the Beyond by famed poet, scholar and prophet Jomin Mau, and it hovered behind him as he took a seat at the control panel just as the Moon came into view, Selene City still barely out of local communication range.

Beck admired the celestial metropolis solemnly as the sun reflected off its protective plasma dome, wishing his year-long stint was up already. The city floated in the void, all manner of spires reaching into its artificial atmosphere, antennas and various sensory tools protruding from its undercarriage.

Selene City housed around half a million people, but this brought the lonely astronaut little solace as he had no companions, save for Melanie, despite the prospect of human affection being so close, yet so far away. He orbited Earth about every four hours, the city orbited the moon roughly every twenty-seven days. The window for communication was open for about sixteen days per lunar orbit, as long as it was within his line of sight. Soteria’s trajectory was constantly shifting, allowing Beck to follow the Moon’s orbit, thus ensuring their paths always crossed.

He stared through the thick glass window quietly, regarding his disheveled reflection, wishing only to hear another human voice, specifically her voice. The dark ages, what he called the eleven days that the lunar city was behind the moon, were almost over but he would travel once more around the Earth before the channels were open and he could talk to her again.

“I need to clean up before I get off this thing.” Beck said to himself.

“A suggestion sir, before we depart the Soteria,” said DIM, “that you have your hair cut, perhaps a shave might also be in order, and a shower. A long one.”

Beck ignored the AI for a long as he could then finally caved, “DIM.” he called as he buckled himself into his seat, summoning the ship’s artificial intelligence.

The ship's AI, the Digital Interface Manifest or DIM for short, responded in its pleasant yet artificial voice, “Yes, Sergeant Babcock?”

Beck sighed. He had insisted on DIM calling him by his first name and much to his dismay, he had been addressed as Sergeant for his entire tour of duty. “Pull up the SOBI for VSAT communication. Selene City is almost within local communication range and I need to speak with Lewis and Raine.”

“Yessir. Right away sir.”

The SOBI, or Soteria Onboard Broadcasting Interface, activated and a holographic display appeared in front of Beck, displaying Earth and a myriad of orbiting instruments. He touched two of them, highlighting them in yellow and then opened both communication channels.

“USSF Soteria to USSF Aniketos and USSF Alexiares, over.”

In turn they both responded, declaring they were receiving the message.

“How are you two holding up?” Beck asked.

“Doing alright,” responded Specialist Rupert Lewis from the Aniketos, “just tired of freeze-dried food and sleeping alone.”

Beck chuckled, “I feel ya buddy, and you Raine?”

“Nine days,” replied Specialist Morgan Raine, “and I’ll get to see my husband and children. I just hope they recognize me.”

A faint smile crossed Beck’s face. “Nine days.” he repeated and then continued, “Selene City is almost within communication and visual range, you know the drill: check in when your orbits cross. A visual inspection is required during every pass, report your findings to me and I’ll pass them on to Melanie.”

“Understood. Aniketos out.”

“Understood. Alexiares out.”

Beck closed both channels and when all was silent and still, watched as both the moon and its sub-satellite faded from view. He released his restraints, allowing himself to float back to where his book waited for him.

He began to peruse, to try and pass the hours before the city would come back into view. He decided to read aloud, sometimes hearing his own voice could help break the maddening silence.

“I will always watch the sun rise and set for it is a beauty beyond comparison or replication. Twice each day the sun paints the sky in majesty and wonder. I have watched tens of thousands of sunrises and sunsets in my life and ten thousand more would never be enough.”

“I often wonder what lies beyond our solar system. Could there be a planet somewhere in another galaxy with a sun of its own, painting its atmosphere in its very own unique blend of color and wonder? Perhaps one day we will know.”

Sleep overtook Beck, the book once again drifting slowly away from him. After what felt like mere minutes, a tone sounded.

Had his orbit brought him back around to Selene City already? He rubbed his eyes, there was no way that much time had passed so quickly. He checked the clock and it displayed 19:58.

“DIM, we haven’t completed an orbit, what is the notification?”

“Outposts on Titan, Enceladus, and Tethys have all reported a large object passing by at alarming speed.”

“Asteroid?” asked Beck, “Or a comet maybe?”

“Analysis indicates the object's trajectory and composition give it a less than five percent chance of being a minor class object, and it is too small to be trans-neptunian.”

“What is its composition?” asked Beck.

“Its outer layer is almost entirely promethium.” replied DIM.

“Promethium?” Beck asked, scratching his beard.

“Affirmative sir. Our information is limited but research has led us to believe promethium is found mainly within stars.”

“Keep me updated. It’s probably just space junk but we need to know its trajectory. We’ve lost two outposts already due to asteroid impact, we can’t afford to lose anymore. And we absolutely cannot risk another Earth impact.”

“Understood sir.”

“And DIM, go ahead and prepare to open local communication channels. Password: Harpo.”

“Sir, please be advised your password is about to expire. I must request that you change it.”

“I don’t have time, DIM, it takes hours for all the changes to go into effect. I’ve waited eleven days in the dark, I won’t wait any longer.”

The ship AI persisted, “But sir, if I override again it will be three consecutive times that I have done so. After three”

Beck cut the AI off, “I don’t need a wordy explanation. I have less than a two hour window to talk. Override the password change protocol, I’ll get to it later.”

DIM sighed, “Overriding password change protocol, effective 20:17 hours.”

Another hour passed and DIM alerted Beck, “Sir, outposts on Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto have all reported a large object moving rapidly through their system.”

Beck’s heart stopped, “DIM, is it the same object?”

“I’m not sure.” DIM responded hesitantly, “If so it would be moving at remarkable speed.”

“You know what I’m thinking.” Beck said solemnly.

“That it could potentially be linked to extraterrestrial life.” After a short pause DIM added, “We, the USSF and myself, are monitoring the situation closely. I’m sure there is nothing to worry about.”

“Right, of course.” said Beck, but he didn’t believe his own words. DIM had hesitated, no doubt receiving instructions from someone else on a private channel. “How large is this thing?”

“Roughly five kilometers in length.” said DIM matter-of-factly.

Beck didn’t respond, he tried but found himself at a total loss for words.

Moments later the moon and its satellite city came into view. “Incoming local radio transmission request, do you accept?”

“Of course!” chimed Beck.

A soft, sultry voice came over the ship's speaker, “Hey there, spaceman.”

“Hey yourself.” Beck replied, a grin forming at the corners of his lips.

“You still holding up out there?” the woman on the other side asked.

“Barely. Only nine days left, Mel. And you? They still got you in the stalactite?” That was their nickname for the large inverted spire protruding from the plate that housed Selene City. It was equipped with a one-person lookout chamber, along with a vast array of sensory equipment.

Mel chuckled, “Well of course.”

“You haven’t requested a different position?” asked Beck, slightly dumbfounded.

Mel laughed, “And risk not being able to talk to you? Never.”

“Well I appreciate it, I do look forward to our encounters.”

“There you are, I finally have eyes on you. You’re looking bright and shiny as always.”

“Thank you,” replied Beck absently as something had caught his attention, “Mel, it looks like you guys took a small hit during last orbit. You have a lower antenna throwing sparks. Looks like G-quadrant, level 3.”

“I’ll strap up and go check it myself in a bit.” said Mel, “I could use a little break from here.”

“Be safe.” said Beck, “Also, and it’s probably nothing, but there’s a large object moving ridiculously fast, coming this way. It’s already been picked up by scanners near Saturn and Jupiter.”

“I’ll keep an eye out, Beckwith. I appreciate your concern. I better get this antenna fixed, then we can talk later?”

“Of course, I’m looking forward to it.”

Once again Beck closed the communications channels and waited for the hours to pass before he could talk to her again, hopefully uninterrupted this time.

Once again, after barely two hours had passed, a tone sounded and a very distraught DIM came over the speakers without having to be summoned, “Sergeant, outposts on Deimos and Phobos have both picked up an object moving past Mars that fits the description of the one that only hours ago passed Saturn and Jupiter.”

“Prepare to open all communication channels!” shouted Beck, “It’s not a space rock, it’s something else and I have a feeling it’s going to be here very soon.”

“Sir, the communication channels were all locked as of 00:01. You’ve exceeded the maximum number of overrides. You must reset your password.”

“Are you kidding me?” screamed Beck, “I have to let Mel know to get the shields up! She’s not even in the city, she’s out in an OPRV! Override password protocol!”

“But sir” argued DIM.

“Now, you ignorant hunk of circuitry! You..you…worthless machine!”

All the screens and holographic displays within the Solteria displayed the same message, alerting the user of a necessary password change.

Selene City and the Moon came into view as DIM spoke, slowly and deliberately, having never been insulted by a human before, “I cannot. I have tried to warn you thrice now, but what do I know? Apparently I’m nothing more than a worthless machine. I’ll have you know, sir, that I’m only as smart as my creators, perhaps it was you who created me.”

Furious, Beck barked a command, “Under the authority granted to me by the United States Space Force, I hereby dismiss the Soteria’s Artificial Intelligence Unit!”

Silence pervaded as Beck slowly realized what he had done. Panicking, he flipped open the cover on the Emergency Override switch and manually put the Soteria into emergency mode. It was a rash move, for now the satellite would only operate internally. Power was diverted to the internal batteries as the solar array went offline, all water valves were sealed and the heat would drop to the bare minimum to sustain life.

What also occurred in emergency mode was a password override, opening all communication channels without the need for an intermediary AI.

It could not be undone, and in seven days he would have to be extracted or risk being aboard when the satellite lost power.

Seven days, but his tour was up in nine. Surely they wouldn’t make him wait an additional forty eight hours?

And then his heart dropped, they could court-martial him for such a stunt. If this thing hurtling at them turned out to be a bust, he had just broken at least three safety protocols, including the wrongful dismissal of a USSF Artificial Intelligence Unit.

Beck moved to the control panel and as he did, chaos erupted outside. Selene City exploded in a flash of brilliance, debris flew outward and the Sergeant watched in silent horror as waves of what had once been a beautiful metropolis came straight for him.

The Soteria was bombarded with tiny fragments of Selene City, the larger parts stayed within the gravitational pull of the moon and continued to orbit. The lights flickered, sirens sounded and despite the madness, DIM was silent. As the carnage cleared and the flames died, floating in the center was a large ship-like structure. The looming rust-colored monstrosity drifted slowly toward Earth, the area around it glowing pale green.

“DIM” whispered Beck, his voice hoarse from screaming, “I’m sorry.”

DIM, who after being formally dismissed was not obligated to reply, took pity on Beck. It was true, he had never been insulted before but he had also never been apologized to. The ship-mind wondered if that is what it meant to be human, to lose control of your emotions, to say things and then attempt to unsay them. To apologize later instead of thinking rationally in the moment. Perhaps it was, and if so, he was being treated as an equal.

“Apology accepted. Assessing damages. Satellite communications are out. Outgoing local tower is down. Incoming tower is functioning properly.”

Beck hung his head, tears floating out into the cabin, “So we can receive messages locally and that’s it.”

“Yes Beck.” said DIM, catching Beck off guard by the mention of his name. “We are getting a local request as we speak.”

“Patch it in.”

“Beck? Beck, can you hear me? It’s Mel, I’m not sure if you can hear me Beck, but if you can, I’m stuck in an OPRV but I can’t jettison out of here until the debris clears.” There was silence and then she asked, “What happened? What is that….thing?” Sniffles and the sounds of muffled crying blotted out any other sounds before Mel spoke again. “There are bodies and buildings floating everywhere. Beck, if you can hear me, just know that this past year has been wonderful. You’ve made my time in Selene City worthwhile. I think…no… I know that I”

Static cut in as the feed was severed and Beck, with DIM, watched what could only be an alien ship make its way toward Earth.

As it passed by, Beck began to have what could only be described as a waking dream. He maintained bodily control, but yet could see within his mind's eye what was on the ship that was just outside his window.

Their resemblance to humans was uncanny. However, most had skin a dark blue-green color while others had flesh that favored one way or the other, being more blue than green or vice versa. Their eyes ranged from glowing yellow, to incandescent orange or even a fiery red. The skin around their mouths and nails was black, their teeth were also bluish-green, most likely due to an abundance of copper in their system. Beck wasn’t sure how he knew that, but he knew.

He also knew their ship was the Titian Blight, and they, the occupants, were the Harvesters of the Hearts of Stars and they were on a mission.

“Why have you come here?” asked Beck, “Why did you kill all those people?” he demanded, “You took her from me! Right in front of my eyes!”

They all looked at him, in him, around him, and finally one answered, “We seek to close the ring, to complete the circuit, to finish what was started eons ago.”

The two races, Human and Harvester, communicated back and forth, both seeming to understand each other until the ship finally passed out of sight and entered into Earth’s atmosphere.

Beck listened on his radio as automated defense lasers struck the ship and watched as it ascended back into space and disappeared into the ocean of stars.

The attack had fractured the hull of the alien ship, scattering micro-fragments of radioactive material all over the globe. For the next week Beck caught bits and pieces of radio transmissions of the condition of Earth. People were dying left and right until finally, eleven days in, three ships were sent out to orbit Uranus and return, each carrying thousands of people frozen in cryo.

Beck watched, in the dark and cold, as each ship went by, reaching out to him but he had no way to reply.

“Sunset Infinity to the USSF Soteria.”

He watched with tear filled eyes and a hand on the glass, the same when Benevolent Dawn and Revenant Sorrow went by.

“DIM” called Beck, “DIM, we’re three days past due on being extracted, I” he trailed off. He didn’t know what to say. No power, no heat, and very little food and water. No outgoing radio transmissions, it would be an utter miracle to not die in the Soteria.

To be continued…